Eileen Collins
Eileen Collins was the first female commander of a space shuttle mission.
Quick Facts
Biography
Eileen Collins
Selected by NASA in January 1990, Collins became an astronaut in July 1991. Initially assigned to Orbiter engineering support, Collins has also served on the astronaut support team responsible for Orbiter prelaunch checkout, final launch configuration, crew ingress/egress, landing/recovery, worked in Mission Control as a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM), served as the Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems Branch Chief, Chief Information Officer, Shuttle Branch Chief, and Astronaut Safety Branch Chief. Collins served as pilot on STS-63 (February 3-11, 1995) and STS-84 (May 15-24, 1997), and was the commander on STS-93 (July 22-27, 1999) and STS-114 (July 26 to August 9, 2005). A veteran of four space flights, Collins has logged over 872 hours in space. Collins retired from NASA in May 2006.
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Space Pioneer
Born in Elmira, New York, Eileen Collins became an astronaut in 1991 after being selected for the astronaut program while attending the US Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California
Read her BiographyNASA’s First Female Shuttle Commander
On her last mission, Eileen Collins became the first (and currently only) female Shuttle commander. On her next, she will…
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Former Astronaut Eileen Collins
Women Astronauts and the Space Station
As of March 2021, 65 women have flown in space. Of these, 38 have visited the International Space Station as long-duration expedition crewmembers, as visitors on space shuttle assembly flights or as space flight participants. It is fitting to recognize the significant accomplishments of these women as well as the pioneering women who preceded them into space and made their spaceflights possible.
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